Introduction

Earlier this week, Russian political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza was sentenced to 25 years in prison in Russia for charges linked to his criticism of the war in Ukraine. He was found guilty of treason, spreading "false" information about the Russian army and being affiliated with an "undesirable organisation" – charges he denied. In 2017, HARDtalk spoke to him as he recovered in the US from what he said was a poisoning attempt in Moscow. Shortly before, he had been rushed to hospital in the Russian capital when his organs started shutting down. He said he knew immediately what was happening because the same thing had happened to him two years earlier. Both times he claimed he was the victim of deliberate poisoning, and that he was targeted because of his opposition to President Putin and the Russian government. He told the programme that despite the risks, he intended to return to Russia.